Media

I passionately believe in the importance of delivering important messages the general public, and working with the media to achieve honest debate. I regularly work with outlets such as the BBC, ITV, Al Jazeera, and LBC to engage in important dialogue with the wider community.

itv News: Last ditch attempt to halt junior doctors’ strike dismissed

“A last ditch attempt to halt next week’s junior doctors’ strike has failed today after Jeremy Hunt dismissed calls from MPs to agree to “a limited trial” ahead of “blanket introduction” of new contracts. But as the NHS looks set to continue with the first all-out strike in its history, doctors made assurances that patients will be safe.”

“A JUNIOR doctor who is set to join picket lines today said he is part of ‘the most demoralised junior doctor workforce in a generation’. Zeshan Qureshi, 31, is a paediatrician who trained in Dorchester in 2009, and later at Great Ormand Street in London. Dr Qureshi has spoken out as junior doctors across the country stage the first ever full walk-out from hospital in the history of the NHS today and tomorrow.”

“My name is Zeshan. I am a junior doctor working in London. ￼The upcoming junior doctor strikes are the first ever full-walk out from hospital in the history of the NHS. I have to ask myself, how did we get to this stage? I come from a family of doctors. People that believe in what the NHS stands for, care based on clinical need, not ability to pay. My dad was a doctor. He grew up in Pakistan.”

“I recently published an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), “Stillbirth should be given greater priority on the global health agenda.” This article began as something I was writing on my own, but I quickly realized that many people are passionate about raising the profile of this preventable tragedy. I assembled a team of global experts to put together a case for stillbirth advocacy that was both persuasive and in line with all the latest objective data. The team includes bioethicists, practicing doctors, academics, and policymakers.”

Heart Research UK: Best selling doctor

“In 2006, Dr Zeshan Qureshi, then a medical student at the University of Southampton, received a £7,000 research grant from Heart Research UK for an Intercalated BSc degree, working with Professor Nick Curzen. The study, using ‘short TEG’, an exciting new test looking at improving medications to prevent blood clots in patients being treated for coronary artery disease, gave Zeshan the opportunity to kick-start his career and led to national prizes, 11 publications and experience presenting research in America, France, Scotland, Bulgaria, England and Canada.”

“There has been a sharp rise in the number of days junior doctors in London were signed-off with stress, anxiety and depression, the BBC has learned. Days lost through these absences have risen by 159% since 2011, figures from 21 London hospital trusts show.”

“An additional 52 million stillbirths – many of which are preventable – could occur in the next 20 years unless the issue is taken more seriously by the global health community, experts say. Writing in the BMJ a team of U.K. and U.S. scientists argued that targets for reducing stillbirths should be included in the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. More than 150 world leaders are due to attend the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit from September 25-27, where a set of goals for the next 15 years will be adopted. The current draft of the goals includes a resolution to drive down neonatal and under-five mortality rates, but does not specifically address the issue of stillbirths.”

“Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, struggled with multiple miscarriages before getting pregnant. This revelation prompted many women and their partners to open up about the pain of losing a child early on in a pregnancy. But it also inspired many to open up about the trauma of losing a child later in a pregnancy. According to the Centers for Disease Control, stillbirth is defined as the loss of a pregnancy after approximately 20 or more weeks gestation. There are more than 7,200 stillbirths per day worldwide, 98% of which are in low-income or developing countries. Even though stillbirths are fairly common, they get relatively short shrift in terms of global health priorities.”

“My passion came when I first observed that students value a well prepared teaching session. At medical school I loved teaching, but it was difficult to reach a large number of students by myself. So I began to think about how I could create opportunities to help others to teach. I set up a teaching programme called Bedside Teachers, which put junior doctors who wanted to teach in touch with students who wanted to learn via an online learning portal. We then linked this to other junior doctor led teaching initiatives within the NHS and held teacher training days so everyone would get the most out of being a teacher and being taught. In 2010-11, through this set-up, 108 tutors delivered 324 tutorials to a cumulative attendance of 1923 students across south east Scotland.”

“Zeshan Qureshi is an academic and clinical paediatrician, with a special interest in global health and medical education. He works at King’s College Hospital, London, and his academic work is linked to the Institute of Global Health, University College London. The Unofficial Guide to Medicine textbook series has now become his biggest educational pursuit. It started off as just a group of friends sharing their revision notes, but now they sell books all over the world, and have over 500 people involved in the project.”

Dr Zeshan Qureshi: A Southampton success story

“Southampton’s not short on heroes, and Dr Zeshan Qureshi is one example. He works as an Academic Paediatrician at Great Ormond Street and the Institute of Child Health in London. He’s three years out of medical school and it’s hard not to be impressed by his growing rank of achievements. Something that may not surprise many medical students is the outstanding success of his book, The Unofficial Guide to Passing OSCEs. The third edition sold over 5000 copies last year in 26 different countries from Malta to Malaysia in just a year. Though sales are ‘seasonal’, it notched up 5 months as Amazon’s number one best selling medical book – and as the OSCE season resumes, it’s back up there again today. And you just thought it was a local perk. Many of you already know it’s one of the more readable, concise and eminently useful textbooks on the shelf.”

Endorsements

Given that I am a 49 year old med student, a naturopath and a midwife I am far from your mainstream medical student and am frequently at philosophical odds with many people around me. Zeshan’s talk made me feel like there may be some hope for me ! I have been in the clinical world for the last ten years as a midwife and have often been frustrated with the attitudes of many medicos around me so encountering Zeshan’s lovely nature made me more optimistic about the possibility of a growing number of doctors that are open minded and in this profession for the right reasons. Thank you again for your talk at Griffith !

Jeannine Paterson, Medical Student, Griffith University, 2016

Dr Qureshi’s presentation was well spoken, well supported by evidence and inspiring: from the burden of disease to the experience of mothers and individual clinicians to policy development and advocacy

Dr Qureshi appeared in an episode of Inside Out London to discuss the impact of heavy workloads on junior doctors’ mental health. I found him to be a forthcoming and co-operative contributor. He spoke eloquently about his own experiences in the workplace – and the experiences of his colleagues. His overall contribution was very insightful.

Claire Brennan, Producer, BBC, 2016

Dr Qureshi’s work was selected to be presented at the RCPCH International Child Health Group meeting in Liverpool on April 27th 2016. His work in collaboration with colleagues on stillbirths which had been published in the Lancet is of enormous value to the global health community and his presentation at the meeting was engaging, impressive and appreciated by everyone who attended. It was a pleasure hearing Dr Qureshi talk and I hope to hear him present again in the future.

Dr Dan Magnus, International Child Health Group, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2016

Al Jazeera English had Zeshan on to talk about the junior doctors’ strike on April 26. He did a great job of setting out the issues clearly and concisely to an international audience.

Christina Marker, News Editor, Al Jazeera English, 2016

ITV National interviewed Dr Qureshi as part of a report previewing a major junior doctors’ strike. We asked him hard-hitting questions about the policies and ethics of the walk-out. He provided informed, confident and engaging answers to all of them – if only all interviewees were like that!

Caron Bell, Reporter, ITV News, 2016

Dr Qureshi is a fantastic, engaging speaker who covered a range of important topics for medical students. Highly recommended!

Hansini Sivaguru, UCLU Medical Society Paediatrics Chair, 2016

Dr. Quresh’s talk on paediatrics was very inspiring! He emphasized the importance of developing the best performance in the medical course, involving with extracurricular activities such as academic research. Considering his great experiency in this field, his tips are very valuable for all medical students, specially those preparing for OSCE. Additionally, his compassionate way to talk about the paediatric world demonstrated to me even more how this speciality is amazing.

Jéssica Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Brazil, 2016

Contact Zeshan



Please use the form on the left to contact me. If you would like to keep updated with my posts, use the “Subscribe” option in the footer. Your email will not be passed on to any third parties.